Seven Directors Elected, Two Miss Majority Vote at Ashford Hospitality Trust, Inc.’s (AHT) 2024 Annual Meeting

Key Summary: On May 2, 2024, Blackwells Capital urged "AGAINST" votes for board nominees at the May 14, 2024 AGM. In 2020, company faced Cygnus Capital's opposition to exchange offers, resulting in legal disputes and director nominations, later withdrawn in February 2021 due to litigation costs. At the AGM on May 14, 2024, seven out of nine director nominees were elected, while two nominees failed to secure a majority of votes for their election.

Market Cap: $60 million| Ashford Hospitality Trust is a real estate investment trust (REIT) focused on investing predominantly in upper upscale, full-service hotels.

On May 2, 2024, Blackwells Capital filed a definitive proxy statement in connection with its campaign urging stockholders to vote “AGAINST” the election of Monty J. Bennett, Amish Gupta, J. Robison Hays, III, Kamal Jafarnia, David W. Johnson, Frederick J. Kleisner, Sheri L. Pantermuehl, Davinder “Sonny” Sra and Alan L. Tallis to the Company’s Board of Directors at the Company’s 2024 AGM which is scheduled to be held on May 14, 2024. Source

On May 8, 2024, Blackwells issued a presentation urging stockholders to vote “AGAINST” the election of incumbent directors to the Board at the Company’s 2024 annual meeting of stockholders which is scheduled to be held on May 14, 2024. In its presentation entitled “Meet the Shareholder Value Destroyers” Blackwells highlighted the Board's misalignment with shareholders and poor governance practices, attributing them to the significant value decline for Ashford stockholders.

At the AGM on May 14, 2024, seven out of nine director nominees were elected, while two nominees failed to secure a majority of votes for their election.

Past

In September 2020, the company initiated exchange offers for preferred stock, met with Cygnus Capital's opposition. Despite Cygnus's efforts, the company proceeded. Cygnus raised stake, requested ownership limit exception, faced waiver revocation, and nominated directors, leading to legal disputes. Cygnus withdrew director nominees in February 2021 due to litigation costs.